The Silver Lining
by redolentperfume
Summary: "You will become my subordinate. When the time comes, you will retrieve my human body from Orochimaru's hideout, and you will get a reward in exchange." Sakura Haruno met the standards to become Sasori's subordinate, only to do so to get Sasuke back, but that isn't the only obstacle she has to overcome.


**Summary:** "You will become my subordinate. When the time comes, you will retrieve my human body from Orochimaru's hideout, and you will get a reward in exchange." Sakura Haruno met the standards to become Sasori's subordinate, only to do so to get Sasuke back, but that isn't the only obstacle she has to overcome.

**Note:** This is my first SasoSaku fiction, so please bear with me. Any possible critics or reviews would be nice, for my English is my second language (there is always room for improvement!).

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. But if I did, I would have had made this ship canon already.

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**The Silver Lining**

Prologue

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Sakura was barely even in the elite standards in Konoha's medical department. Truth be told, she has been working endlessly during—and even before—Naruto's departure, focusing on her taijutsu and ninjutsu. The simple thought of being a burden to her team disgusted her and thus, made her feel worthless.

The young girl, who is only thirteen, has been assigned to practice her punches and kicks. Lady Tsunade was far too busy with countless paperwork and she, too, had to assign other fellow shinobi to missions as well.

It hasn't been so long when Naruto departed to train with Jiraiya, it has only been a matter of weeks. Sakura barely took any breaks though; she couldn't waste even a simple day without training. Although she was indeed studying medication, Sakura knew her limits. After a week of continuous training, Tsunade pushed her to agree that at least a day of relaxing would be completely okay, not to mention it was for her benefit—healthy wise.

"Fifty, fifty-one, fifty-two…" Sakura trailed on as she counted the numbers of punches she successfully hit on the trunk of an Oak tree. She usually liked to choose private areas to train, as she deeply detested being looked at whether she was doing great or not.

_I can reach one hundred and fifty punches without stopping._

She laughed to herself, reminiscing the times when she would watch Lee promise to himself that he would reach this certain goal he had in mind, such as doing a whole lap around the borders of Konoha in a handstand. Sakura never found Lee's limits though, it seemed as if that boy could keep punching that same trunk until he become as old as the Konoha elders themselves.

Since it has only been a matter of weeks that she fully started her intensive training with the Godaime Hokage, her superhuman strength was still a work in progress. Tsunade was sure that her subordinate had the ability to reach such a high level of chakra control, and she knew that Sakura would—soon—master that ability. Medical ninjutsu requires a shinobi's full focus, and this one was no more or less.

"One hundred and forty nine… and one hundred and fifty!" She raised her voice with pure pride. Sakura was so captivated and satisfied of herself that with her final punch, she literally broke the trunk in half; hundreds of trunk fragments were scattered all around the grass.

This was her main focus today. Tsunade explained to her that she lacks stamina, and if she were to hit targets with only a few hits, Tsunade knew that she wouldn't last in battle on that standard. Sakura's main focus was to make her weakness become her strength.

Sometimes, she would let her mind fantasize a life that she would wish to live: with Sasuke back in Konoha, his goal as an avenger long gone, and Team 7 back together again; nothing else in her life could get any better if that wish came true. Sakura considered them as family, and Sasuke failed to see that.

After ten minutes of resting, she had to go back to training again. As she puts it: just because someone has accomplished something it doesn't mean they get to slack off a second after. There is always a place to improve no matter how perfect the technique or skill is. She had to go to a different tree though, for the previous one was smashed into pieces by her powerful punch.

"Kick your knees high up to your limit," she heard a voice say behind her, causing her to flinch in surprise. Sakura didn't expect anybody to be here at all, and that voice surely did not belong to Tsunade's. "And hit the target with full force."

Frowning, Sakura placed her leg back to the ground and turned around to see who was speaking, resulting to see a young man, around two years older than her by looks, with his calm, earthy eyes closed midway. Sakura remarked that she has never seen this man before—and she couldn't see Konoha's traditional headband anywhere on his features to prove that he was from here.

This was just one of the ways to identify people, not everybody wore their headbands nor they _need_ to be a shinobi in this village, too. One thing she knew is that this man knew what he was talking, he didn't seem like the kind of man to fool people in such an immature way.

"Do it," he pushed, not giving her any further instructions. The young man did not show her any facial expressions; it was as if he had none. All he did was give her a cold stare.

Sakura didn't say anything back, and did as she was told. She couldn't help but sense a bit of awkwardness to have a random stranger watch her train though, but it was not like he had the kind of personality to tease people anyway. So, as she took a deep breath in, she put all her weight to her left, swiftly raising her leg as far she could and successfully hit the trunk, thus it broke in half.

A small smile tugged on her face once she realized that she broke the tree trunk so rapidly and with so much ease. Sakura knew that she is starting to feel the positive outcomes of this intensive training, and slightly because of the mysterious man's help.

Turning around once again, smiling, she said to the anonymous, "Thank you! I've been trying to perfect my kicks and I think I am getting the hang of it now."

The nameless man, whose hair reminded Sakura of flames, said nothing to that comment. He was not quite interested in her training as he was to the main reason he was here, right in Konoha's territory. He knew that if he were to be caught, then that would mean a lot of trouble for him and he definitely does not want to stumble upon that. He simply didn't have time for silly things like those; he had far more important things than to fight against shinobi at the moment. Besides, he was ordered to keep low profile after all.

He went by the name of Akasuna no Sasori.

The widely known Sasori who was credited for his immense skills in the art of puppetry, was the one who helped the young Sakura on her training with just a simple suggestion—or rather, _demand_. Sasori was never wrong, he would always calculate anything before he acted it out. That's one of the many reasons Akatsuki welcomed him many years ago.

"Anyway," she cleared her throat, feeling a little tense due to Sasori's lack of response. "My name is Sakura Haruno, and I believe that we have not met before. What's your name?"

_Silly girl._

Even if she is remarked as one of the smartest students upon graduating in the academy, Sakura still had a lot to learn. She did feel slightly suspicious, yes, but somehow she felt that he would cause no harm, but still made her wary. One of the many things she has learned so far as a kunoichi is that you shouldn't trust someone so easily.

Who was she to judge though?

Sakura could easily sense that this man in front of her was not using ninjutsu to hide his true appearance. Perhaps if he was not from this village, then he was simply just visiting, which was simply fine. That positive thought made Sakura less tense and more at ease.

"Sasori," the man responded shortly after. He didn't hesitate at all to reveal his name, for he was completely certain that Sakura would never say his name out loud after this encounter. Besides, Sasori also knew that this girl didn't know about him. If she was more Suna then that would have had been completely different in that case. Taking a step forward, Sasori continued, "I am here to provide you with an offer."

_An offer?_

_If he is here to offer me something, then how did he know who I was in the first place?_

Sakura's features suddenly tensed at his sudden statement. "What offer are you speaking of?" She asked as she crossed her arms, pressing against her upper stomach.

Sasori definitely was not the type of man to drag things out unlike his fellow spy, Kabuto Yakushi, who he had brainwashed so that he could fulfill his purpose. Sasori was suspicious about Kabuto; he had failed to retrieve his human body from one of Orochimaru's various hideouts.

He mentioned himself as an unfinished puppet to someone once, and not only his beating heart was at fault, but his _human _body was another one, too. Even if Sasori is acknowledged as a puppet master, he still had to discover the counteraction to the fault of his living human puppet technique. And shortly after Orochimaru's betrayal to the Akatsuki, he had found where Sasori secreted his human body and stole it away from him.

Ever since that day, Sasori held true grudge against Orochimaru. The sole memories of being partners for years were long gone; Sasori did not care about them in the first place. He never did.

"You will become my subordinate," he explained straightforwardly. "When the time comes, you will retrieve my human body from Orochimaru's hideout, and you will get a reward in exchange."

_Orochimaru?_

Whenever Sakura heard someone speak his name or even thinks about him herself, she could not help herself but get reminded about Sasuke. This unexpected information sparkled Sakura's true interest into knowing what exactly Sasori was trying to explain to her, for she was definitely confused about the mentioning of his 'human body'.

Her eyes widened. "Orochimaru?" She exclaimed, taking a step forward. "Does that mean you know where Sasuke is?"

Sasori knew that the girl would be interested in his suggestion. She was Sasuke's teammate after all, and nobody could change that. This added to his advantage though, if that little girl held the will to bring his comrade back, then she will hold the will to do whatever Sasori asked her to do just to know a piece of information about him. All he asked for her services was to retrieve his body back, and that was all.

"I do know his whereabouts," he confessed in his usual, calm tone. "But do not get so excited, little girl, I will _only_ tell you this piece of information if you do as ordered."

Sakura noticed his use of words; he used _ordered_ instead of _asked_—it was as if he had just become his superior in a matter of seconds. She still didn't know what he meant exactly about his human body, nor she dared to ask. She could tell Sasori wasn't a man to easily answer every question he is asked, so she let that thought aside.

All she did was nod in agreement to his proposal.

"In two and a half years time, we will meet again," he explained. "I will tell you where your fellow teammate is _if_ you fetch my human body." Sasori hated to repeat himself, and he sure will be irritated if the little girl asked him to clarify his clear, and obvious information he has just given her.

_Two and a half years? Why so long?_

It was for a simple cause. Sasori knew that this girl was far beyond becoming elite. Although she did fit the standards of what he sought for, he still needed Sakura to be stronger. So he will give her that limited time to train. He will not shorten it nor he would extend it.

Sakura only agreed to do so for the sake of her teammate—for the guy she _loves_. If that's what it takes to get Sasuke back, then she will do it. Even if it takes nearly three years, she will do it, just as long as it is beneficial in the end.

After training, she decided that she would go home and relax; mostly think about exactly what Sasori had in mind.

"I will do it," she concluded.

Sasori didn't say anything but lock eyes with her for a moment; green eyes met honey ones. She noticed how emotionless he looked, she _felt_ as if he was emotionless, too. Perhaps this was one of the effects of not having his 'real' body? She was utterly confused to what he meant about that, and probably will never figure that out until they met again.

All Sakura did was stare at his back as he solemnly walked away.

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**Note:** _Please_ review your thoughts about this story so far! You will find out more about the insights of Sasori's doing, so if you are a bit confused, that it will eventually be cleared out.

If you are unsure to what 'silver lining' means, its _basic_ definition is: the good thing from the bad situation.

Anyway, thanks for reading!


End file.
